Watching Matt Serra and Forrest Griffin discuss anything from their past fights to the condition of Griffin’s car (which makes me feel a hell of a lot better about the condition of my own) is kind of like watching an Abbott and Costello movie, minus the mythological creatures and slapstick hijinks, of course. The two effortlessly riff off one another like a pair of old pals, which makes Serra’s recent trip to Vegas to film his ongoing series for the UFC, Fight Camp Insider, all the more entertaining.

Taking the typical “light on actual fight discussion, heavy on pizza discussion” approach that Serra has mastered in previous outings, the pair of former champions also make sure to discuss such topics as the shrinkage caused by an ice bath (which I can only assume must be insane), FoGriff’s Ted Bundy-esque mode of transportation, and the ability of Ray Longo to clear a house using only the power of his mighty deuces. Oh yeah, and they manage to find enough time to briefly hype Forrest’s upcoming trilogy match with Tito Ortiz at UFC 148.

UFC 148′s co-main event is the not-nearly-as-anticipated rubber match between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin. “In this third one, there has to be a convincing winner,” Ortiz says, “and that’s gonna be me.” No matter what the outcome of the fight, July 7th will mark Ortiz’s transition from UFC star into retired Hall of Famer. So how will he perform in the last three rounds of his career? And if he manages to carve out a victory, what does that mean for Forrest Griffin?

Dana White spilled the beans to MMAWeekly, most likely because we were totally busy at the time. White stated that, despite the pair’s rough history, Ortiz had more than earned his place amongst the legends of the sport, due in part to his ability to generate interest in MMA during the UFC’s dark days:

He pound for pound was doing some of the most damage at a time when we were hurting. But it’s part of our history the way the storylines played out between me, Chuck and Tito. He’s definitely a part of the history of the sport.

As you can see by the header photo, the beef between White and Ortiz has long since been squashed. The beef between Ortiz and Griffin, on the other hand, has been elevated to levels we previously deemed impossible, as the TUF 1 winner recently went all Jason Miller in a recent interview and claimed that if he were to lose to Ortiz at UFC 148, he would more or less kill himself. At least that’s what we took away from it.

Through the majority of their parallel UFC careers, Stephan Bonnar has played second-banana to Forrest Griffin. The relationship started with Griffin’s career-launching win over Bonnar in their classic brawl at the first Ultimate Fighter finale in 2005; a rematch the following year resulted in the American Psycho going home with another decision loss and a steroid suspension. While Griffin was winning the UFC light-heavyweight title in 2008, Bonnar was on the sidelines due to injuries, and though Griffin occasionally ate a humiliating loss, Bonnar’s losses were even more embarrassing.

But lately, the two men have begun to shift trajectories. A not-quite-motivated Griffin suffered an ugly knockout against Mauricio Rua in Brazil last year, and is now booked in a relatively needless trilogy fight against Tito Ortiz in July. With Forrest in a holding pattern, Bonnar is now riding a three-fight win streak, with W’s over Krzysztof Soszynski, Igor Pokrajac, and Kyle Kingsbury. In other words, Griffin might be heading down the mountain, while Bonnar is somehow reaching another peak in his career — which makes it an ideal time for the two rivals to meet one last time, perhaps at the end of an Ultimate Fighter gig that would bring their lives full circle. At least, that’s how Bonnar sees it. Here’s what he told MMAJunkie Radio:

Robert Drysdale’s BJJ credentials include being a six-time World Jiu-Jitsu champion, ADCC Absolute Division Champion as well as winning over 90 BJJ tournament titles. He has a MMA record of 3-0 with all three victories coming by way of submission, showing his versatility in those fights by using a guillotine, an arm-bar and an arm triangle choke. Within the MMA community he is regarded as one of the best BJJ instructors with a virtual all-star list of hall of famers, former champs and current contenders to support the claim. Names like Randy Couture, Wanderlei Silva, Forrest Griffin, Martin Kampmann, and Evan Dunham have all excelled under the tutelage of Drysdale, just to name a few. He was also brought in on TUF season 8 by Frank Mir (a black belt in BJJ himself) to help coach his team. Despite having enough trophies and medals to fill a dump truck while instructing some of the sport’s elite, Drysdale still trains/teaches at his BJJ academy in Las Vegas.

This past weekend, Robert Drysdale hosted a seminar at the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo in Long Beach, California, where he was kind enough to give CagePotato a few minutes of his time.

Cagepotato.com: You have trained the cream of the crop in MMA, both skill-wise and personality-wise. Do you have any personal favorites?

Robert Drysdale: There are a lot of guys that I really like but me and Frank [Mir] get along pretty well. John Alessio is a very good friend and then there is Danny Davis. Forrest [Griffin] is a trip and it’s always fun to have him in the gym. There are so many guys down at the gym that it is hard to name all of them but I get along with all my students.

CP: Are the stories true? Is Forrest really that hairy?

RD: (laughs) He tries to be as hairy as me but he is not winning that fight because I have better hair distribution.

CP: According to your Wikipedia page, you fought in Houston Texas last night. Apparently not everything is true on the internet. What happened?

With all the freak show greatness that comprised this past weekend, we all but forgot to report on some of the matchups that actually, you know, mattered. It’s kind of like when you went to Disney World with the intent of riding Space Mountain until you puked, but ended up stuck at the ring toss game all day because some ginger and his group of middle school friends called your form “faggy” and you HAD TO WIN THAT STUFFED DRAGON TO PROVE THEM WRONG. And we hate to say it, but Bob Sapp and Kimbo Slice will forever be the crappy carnival games that we simply cannot avoid.

In fact, while we were all watching “The Beast’s” record dip below the .500 mark at Saturday’s KSW-19 card (because somehow that just happened), there was a fight that took place earlier on the card that didn’t make us laugh and then immediately hang our heads in shame, believe it or not. We’re talking, of course, about Mamed Khalidov vs. Rodney Wallace. As we’ve stated before, Mamed Khalidov may be the best fighter out there not signed to a major promotion, and it kind of baffles us as to why. The Polish powerhouse’s record currently stands at 25-4, and over the past few years, he has quietly decimated every UFC washout that has crossed his path without batting an eye. Khalidov started out his 2011 season by adding to the legend of Irvin’s Curse, then rounded it out by scoring lightning quick submission victories over Matt Lindland and Jesse Taylor in successive bouts. But like a psychopathic Japanese girl after a mock casting audition, Khalidov is still waiting for that phone call.

Last weekend, he looked to make it four Zuffa vets in a row when he faced off against Rodney “Sho Nuff the Master” Wallace in a middleweight contest. As has become the standard for Khalidov, the bout featured a multitude of spinning based attacks and ended in less than two minutes.

Here at CP, I see “us” as a bunch of cynical, condescending, annoyed class-clowns that have a genuine love for the sport of MMA. We love great fights and enigmatic fighters, it’s really that simple. Whether it is a fighter’s personality or in-ring performance, we try our best not to be “nut-huggers,” but sometimes these things happen in MMA (Damn you Georges!). Because I wanted to curb any bias towards fighters that I might have, I tried my best to not be like a 14 year-old girl, so I avoided Twitter like an invitation to a Mike Whitehead BBQ – but I have given in. Not to the invite, but to my status as a new member of Twitter, and I must admit, there are some pretty damn compelling, comical, and surprisingly elegant MMA fighters that can wax poetic in 140 characters or less.

“Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one and they think everyone else’s stinks.” I believe that phrase was coined by Sigmund Freud or the Dalai Lama…or George Carlin. Whoever came up with the analogy was clearly a genius with a tremendous affinity for “Dirty” Harry Callahan. So take a big whiff because these are the MMA fighters that I think you should be following on Twitter with a few examples from their recent timelines.

We were all introduced to KenFlo on TUF 1. Although he was somewhat overshadowed by more flamboyant participants and in-house scuffles, he’s elevated himself within the UFC as one of its most versatile members. Whether as a fighter or broadcaster, he displays his wit and charisma like a true pro, but on Twitter he mixes in self-deprecation with an almost narcissistic vibe.

“When I’m being threatened, I will start doing splits to let ppl know what’s up. I always get mistaken for a talented dancer or gymnast.”

“Is a bow tie & no shirt too formal for a charity event I’m going to next week?”

It’s kind of a shame that we’ve barely managed to touch upon the aftermath of what was a fantastic UFC on FUEL event this past weekend, but simply put, UFC 145 has so much more on the line in terms of hype, hatred, and championship gold that the Swedish card can’t help but be placed on the back burner. The light heavyweight championship bout pitting Jon Jones against Rashad Evans has torn fans, friends, and even training camps apart before our very eyes, and we are just a business week away from finally being treated to its conclusion.

Let’s start with the division’s very first champion, Frank Shamrock, who was finally able to speak without unknowingly blinding his audience with the illuminating power of his braces:

This fight has a tremendous story behind it, with it having grown out of a friendship that went sour back when these two were teammates. The drama that’s fueling this is incredible. Fans can expect a fight that, stylistically, will be extremely challenging for Jones to overcome, and he’ll have fits with Rashad’s wrestling if he’s able to put Jon on his back. But ultimately, I see Jones being able to inflict more damage and walk away with the belt still in hand. This will be a fight that will not end as easily and devastatingly as Jones’s others have, but rather one of those moments in his career where he’ll have to pull himself up and battle until the final bell. In the end, this fight will help Jon become a better fighter and a better champion, and will endear himself to fans for years to come.

Join us after the jump to hear what the rest of the light heavyweight elite have to say about Bones/Suga.

(“How ’bout this, bro: If neither one of us are married in ten years, *we* get married.”)

According to a tweet sent out last night by Tito Ortiz, the Huntington Beach Bad Boy will return to the Octagon at UFC 148 (July 7th, Las Vegas), where he’ll face Forrest Griffin for the third time. Ortiz and Griffin’s first two fights both ended in split-decisions, with Ortiz winning their first meeting at UFC 59 in 2006, and Griffin taking the rematch at UFC 106 in 2009.